


Don't Panic

by ifeellikeiamamidget



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Anxiety, Barry Allen Has Issues, Barry Allen Needs a Hug, Barry Allen has Panic Attacks, Claustrophobia, F/M, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Minor Barry Allen/Iris West, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:34:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28797702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifeellikeiamamidget/pseuds/ifeellikeiamamidget
Summary: [2x23] Barry has suffered from severe anxiety since his mother's death. Now, it has been two days since his father's death.. and Team Flash collectively decide to lock in him the pipeline.. in a cell.. a tiny cell. Nothing too bad could happen.. right?
Relationships: Barry Allen & Caitlin Snow, Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon, Barry Allen & Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells, Barry Allen & Iris West & Joe West, Barry Allen & Jesse "Quick" Wells, Barry Allen & Team Flash, Barry Allen & Wally West
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE FLASH; THE CHARACTERS, THE PLOT OR ANYTHING IN THIS STORY :)
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: PANIC-ATTACKS, SELF-INFLICTED WOUNDS

The cell was tiny. Barry always knew that the pipeline cells weren't the most spacious things in the world but he surely thought there was a bit more room to _breathe_. Considering Cisco managed to install toilets into the cell walls, he kind of hoped his best-friend had made some more adjustments to the cages, especially since even he knew the metas being locked up here couldn't have dealt with this little space for too long. But, the speedster quickly decided to add this to the list of things he was angry about. Maybe he could give the list to Cisco and see what the engineer could do to sort it out, considering he was the only one from the team who showed _any_ remorse for locking him down here. Barry had his back pressed against the back wall, staring at the glass and to the outside world.. well, he was staring at the inside of the pipeline but it was still out there rather than inside the cell.

He had been in the cell for a little over an hour when his thoughts began spiralling. His team were just as reckless and as stubborn as he was, that's what they all shared in common, and that was one of the main reasons Barry had been preparing to face Zoom alone, without his team in the firing line. Barry knew his team had formulated a plan that would result in them all losing their lives. He also knew that he was stuck in this small, cramped cage whilst they were all outside, free to be alive. He wanted that.. no he needed that. He needed to be free, before this got even worse.

* * *

Four hours later and Barry realised how inhumane it was to lock someone down here, who was recently grieving the loss of his father, with their thoughts. It was dangerous, deadly-even. Of course, people enjoyed thinking, but given recent circumstances, you would think his team, his family, would at least put him in the med-bay with a meta-dampening cuff set rather than in this confined space, with nothing to do except breathe.

It was when it reached the fifth hour that Barry's claustrophobia really kicked in.

With each breath he took, it felt as though the room was getting smaller, and much more tight. Barry could feel how unstable his legs were, so he slid down the cell wall, tremors taking control of his body as he made contact with the freezing floor. Who knew the floor could feel as cold as ice? That did nothing for the speedster, however, as he continued to struggle for air, he even began attempting to claw at the walls, hoping he could escape. He needed to escape. The thoughts of his team risking their lives went out of the window as the only mantra flowing through his mind was, ' **Don't Panic'**

* * *

S.T.A.R Labs was eerily quiet when Team Flash returned from their mission. Caitlin and Harry helped escort an injured Joe to the med-bay whilst Cisco, Iris and Jesse all remained by the monitors in the Cortex, all three of them collapsing into the three available chairs. When Harry emerged from the med-bay, he approached his daughter, placing his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her down. Cisco and Iris just sighed softly before an alarm began ringing throughout the entire building. All of them were suddenly on alert. Cisco began to type frantically on his computer, hoping that Zoom hadn't come to them. What was shown on the security footage, however, made the engineer feel guilt flood through his chest.

On the screen, it showed Barry, his chest heaving so fast that little bolts of lightning were flashing off of the man. It was because of the amount of energy stored in one of those lightning bolts that the emergency alert system had been signalled. Iris watched in horror as Barry began clawing at his arms, hoping to relieve some of the pressure being built up in his chest.

Iris arrived at the pipeline in one minute.

The reporter immediately ran to the control panel, unlocking the cell. Iris stopped just shy of the cell door, turning around to face Cisco. The engineer looked at her and nodded his head softly, agreeing with her decision. The duo slowly approached the terrified speedster, hoping not to startle him too much. Cisco grabbed Barry's flailing hands, keeping them from scratching his arms more whilst Iris was stationed at his right, taking his face into both of her hands. Tears spilled down her face as she stared into his eyes, wishing he recognised them. Barry's breathing became much more shallow, his chest heaving up and down unevenly as he battled with himself to get oxygen into his body.

"Bear, breathe." Iris said to him, placing their foreheads together. She stared directly into his eyes, hoping he would finally notice them, "You can breathe.. you can breathe"

"N-No I-I can't b-breathe!" Barry gasped out, his head escaping Iris' grip as it smacked the cell wall with a resounding bang, "Too-too small.. no-no air"

"Bartholomew Henry Allen," Iris bellowed, sighing in relief as his eyes flew open, despite them not looking at her, "You're safe. Look at me.. Barry, look at me"

The speedster hesitantly looked at her, distressed eyes meeting her own. She slid her right arm down to his shaking hand, pulling it to her face, planting a light kiss onto his knuckle. Her left hand wiped some of his hair off of his forehead, cringing slightly as she realised it was damp with sweat. Cisco clutched the speedster's left hand in his own as he gripped tightly onto the engineer's hand, struggling to calm himself down.

"Easy, Barry," Iris told him, smiling softly as he kept his gaze trained on her, "Take deep breaths with me"

Barry watched as Iris took a deep breath, urging him to do the same. The moment he tried though, it made him feel worse. His chest was so tight he couldn't get any air in it felt like. Iris could see the distress on his face as he tried to take a deep breath, instead, he ended up gasping for more air. The reporter let her left hand play with his hair. She remembered from High School how much he calmed down after having someone just sit and stay with him rather than attempt to talk him down.

"'m feel sick," Barry mumbled minutes later, feeling utterly exhausted. Cisco sighed in relief as he felt Barry let go of his hand, letting the blood circulation begin to flow once more. Iris turned towards the engineer, nodding for him to leave. Cisco seemed to understand the message, because a second later he had patted Barry on the knee gently and left.

Whilst Iris still clutched Barry's, still shaking, hand in her own, she continued to play with his hair, placing a feather-light kiss to his temple as his eyes drifted closed. They would talk about this, but for now, she was just glad that she was able to help calm him down.

* * *

**Leave a review if you want a part two :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [2x23] Barry has suffered from severe anxiety since his mother's death. Now, it has been two days since his father's death.. and Team Flash collectively decide to lock in him the pipeline.. in a cell.. a tiny cell. Nothing too bad could happen.. right?
> 
> So, if you don't follow me on Wattpad (ifeellikeiamamidget) then I posted this in the book, 'My One-Shots', and a lot of people on there demanded a second chapter of this so here it is. I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter and I hope you all enjoy this :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE FLASH; THE CHARACTERS, THE PLOT OR ANYTHING IN THIS STORY :)
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: PANIC-ATTACKS, SELF-INFLICTED WOUNDS

Barry and Iris were in the Pipeline for a really long time. The entire time they were there, they were both silent. It had been over an hour since Barry's panic attack, and Iris knew if she didn't get him talking soon, didn't get him opening up, she would lose the boy she fell in love with all those years ago. Iris had already lost a big part of Barry after his dad died. He wasn't happy, (rightfully so, considering his dad is dead), and he was just exhausted all the time. He couldn't sleep, barely ate and he just lost the life behind his eyes.

"Bear?" Iris asked the speedster softly, stroking his cheek softly with her right hand. After Cisco had left, Iris had gathered the man into her arms, letting his head press up against her chest whilst she wrapped her arms around the top portion of his head. The reporter sat back on her legs, no longer balancing on her knees. She looked Barry in the eyes as his eyes fluttered open, his focus hazy with exhaustion. The speedster lethargically unwrapped his arms from Iris' waist and placed them in his lap, looking down at the ground.

"You haven't had one of those in awhile," Iris spoke gently, not wanting to startle Barry, "I thought you weren't claustrophobic?"

Barry simply shrugged. Even that seemed to take up a lot of energy, so Iris watched Barry slump against the wall.

"Barry," Iris said, her voice much more demanding, "Talk to me. Please"

"Do you know what it's like to feel alone?" Barry began, his voice hoarse, "Do you have any idea what it's like to be left alone with your thoughts after something traumatic happens? Do you know how mentally and emotionally _damaging_ that is?"

Iris was taken aback from the questions she was hearing leave his mouth. As much as she wanted to interrupt him, contradict the statement and tell him that he could always talk to them, she knew it wasn't the right time. He needed this just as much as she needed to hear it.

"Being trapped in here, it just made all of those thoughts _worse_ ," He cried softly, "You all could've died, and that would be my fault. I should be able to protect you all without letting my emotions get in the way," Barry paused for a moment and wiped a stray tear away from his cheek, " _My father just died_ , Iris.. and instead of helping me get through it, you do the worst, most damaging thing you could ever do to someone who is grieving and struggling to keep themselves together," Iris watched as more tears began rolling down his cheeks as he spoke, but she wasn't judging him for crying, she was seconds away from doing so, too, "I felt so alone in here. I felt anger, sadness and then numbness, over and over again because my mind was battling with itself on your true motives for locking me in here. You all could've died... and I-I wouldn't have been able to stop it"

The pair lapsed into another silence as Barry tried to control his emotions, but Iris knew better. She could see the way his thoughts were starting to spiral and how his hands were starting to shake again. The lightning was flickering on and off in his eyes. This is what it had been like for him for the three hours they had left him trapped in here. She had done this to him. Her and the rest of the team had broken him... no, Zoom had broken him, but they had scattered the pieces so far that he couldn't find them. They had just destroyed the Scarlet Speedster.

Instead of apologising verbally, because she knew that it would get her nowhere, she gathered the speedster into her arms once more and just rocked them both as they cried together. She couldn't speak for the rest of the team, but she could speak for herself, and this hug was telling the speedster everything he needed to hear. As she rocked the speedster, she could hear him mumbling, "I'm so tired" over and over again, which in turn, broke her own heart.

* * *

Unknown to both Barry and Iris, after Cisco had came back from the Pipeline, Harry had activated the sound on the security cameras. Caitlin and Cisco had both looked at the man in shock. Barry was allowed some privacy, and they, at least, deserved to give it to him after they betrayed him like that. Just as Cisco was about to shut it off, Barry began crying out, and it made all of them freeze. Jesse turned to her father as she listened to what Barry was saying. With each word Jesse could hear the amount of pain he was in increase. She could tell just how much this had taken out of him. After her mother had died, she had watched her father change from the pain and the emotional stress it put him through. She just hoped that Barry wasn't as far gone as his father had been all those years ago.

"Hold yourself together, Snow" Harry said, a frown on his face as he started at the doctor, who had tears running down her face. Cisco was trying to comfort Caitlin but it just wasn't working, he was just as upset as Caitlin was. That was their best friend.. and they just sat back and helped contribute to the sobbing mess in Iris' arms. The duo had no idea how their friendship with Barry would bounce back from this. It had slipped all of their minds that Joe had been injured in the mission until 15 minutes later when Wally ran in, demanding to know where his father was. At that same moment, Barry and Iris had just entered the hallway outside of the Cortex. They were both just in time to hear Wally yell;

"Where's my dad?" The teen looked around the entire room until his eyes landed upon Caitlin, who nodded towards the Med-Bay. Barry stopped walking once he and Iris had entered the Cortex. His mind was on over-speed. Why was Joe in the Med-Bay? What had Zoom done? What had they done? Why couldn't he save Joe? Why did he fail another parent? Iris stared at Barry and Wally before grabbing them both by the arm and silently dragging them into the Med-Bay. The team all looked at each other before entering the Med-Bay too, wanting to support their family.

Stopping Zoom could be done at a later date, but right now, all they needed to do was stay calm and united in their fight.

* * *

**Leave a review if you're mandem... kidding, lil british joke n dat. But on the real, leave a review if you enjoyed it n if you want more stuff like this**


End file.
